Ould-Braham had just been made étoile and her performance seemed, to me, buoyed by an extra layer of joy and happiness. Hoffalt was completely at ease in both technique and characterization. When they celebrated their wedding onstage, the audience went crazy.

At the end the curtain came up once again, and Brigitte Lefèvre (artistic director of the ballet) and Nicolas Joel (director of the opera as a whole) emerged to announce the promotion of the evening’s Solor, Josua Hoffalt, to the ultimate rank: étoile. There were buckets of tears, from Hoffalt, Gilbert, and Dupont. In fact, it was the high point of the evening. An uncontrolled release of emotion, at last.